Meteorite Shows Evidence Of Water On Ancient Mars

Alex Knapp
,
Forbes Staff
I write about the future of science, technology, and culture.

(Image Credit: Kevin Gill)

A meteorite that was discovered in the Sahara Desert had its origins on Mars - possibly a wetter Mars than previously imagined.

The meteorite, dubbed NWA 7034, has been intensively studied over the past year. Scientists have determined that the meteorite is from Mars, where the rock itself was formed about 2.1 billion years ago.

That makes the meteorite much older than other known Martian meteorites. That makes what the scientists found fascinating - it has about 10 times more water than other known Martian meteorites.

The mineral composition of the meteorite is identical to known portions of the Martian crust that have been examined by Martian rovers and satellites. But it dates back to a time in Martian history that scientists know very little about.

"This Martian meteorite has everything in its composition that you'd want in order to further our understanding of the Red Planet," said Carl Agee, leader of the analysis team, in a press release. "This unique meteorite tells us what volcanism was like on Mars 2 billion years ago. It also gives us a glimpse of ancient surface and environmental conditions on Mars that no other meteorite has ever offered."

"The contents of this meteorite may challenge many long held notions about Martian geology," added John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in the release. "These findings also present an important reference frame for the Curiosity rover as it searches for reduced organics in the minerals exposed in the bedrock of Gale Crater."

The examination of the meteorite indicates that the water molecules likely formed because of contact with water within the Martian crust. There are also different oxygen isotopes in this meteorite than in younger Martian meteorites. That gives scientists some clues about what the ancient Martian atmosphere may have been like.

Pieces of Mars find their way to Earth when the surface of Mars is struck by a large object - like a small asteroid. If there's enough energy, pieces of the Martian crust can achieve escape velocity and make their way into space. Some of those rocks then get caught by Earth's gravity and make their way to our surface.

The discovery of this meteorite provides still more evidence that Ancient Mars had water on its surface - potentially a great deal. The stunning visual included with this article was created by Kevin Gill. Gill used actual topographic maps of Mars to create a vision of what the planet might have looked like billions of years ago.